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Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cash rehash: Legislators again consider payment acceptance requirement for schools
Sen. Greg Blanc, R-Rapid City, speaks on the floor of the South Dakota Senate on Feb. 10, 2025, in Pierre. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) It was deja vu in the South Dakota House Education Committee on Wednesday at the Capitol in Pierre. Earlier in the legislative session, the committee passed a bill that would require public and accredited private schools to accept cash at events. But the House of Representatives later rejected it. Sen. Greg Blanc, R-Rapid City, then filed his own, similar bill in the Senate, where it was approved last week. Lawmakers advance bill to mandate cash acceptance at school events Blanc's legislation was assigned to the House Education Committee, which rehashed its discussion of the idea Wednesday. Supporters of the bill shared similar stories to those told earlier this session about parents not being able to attend high school activities in some parts of the state, especially in the Sioux Falls area, because some schools exclusively use smartphone app-based, cashless ticketing. Opponents of the bill included the South Dakota High School Activities Association, organizations representing private businesses, and some activities directors at Sioux Falls high schools. They worried that Senate Bill 219 would force separate entities to accept cash if they host school-affiliated games. The South Dakota state basketball tournaments, for example, are hosted at city- and state-owned facilities. If the venue decides not to comply, then schools or state tournaments would lose a venue, said Dan Swartos, executive director of the activities association. Rep. Amber Arlint, R-Sioux Falls, told lawmakers the legislation isn't needed because it already spotlighted a problem and has encouraged school districts and organizations to reevaluate their cashless policies and make cash accommodations on their own. But a majority of lawmakers on the committee decided a state statute is needed. The bill heads to the House next. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate Education committee passes different bill requiring schools take cash for events
The Senate Education committee voted 4-3 to pass a bill Thursday morning to require schools accept cash for school-affiliated events. Rapid City Republican Sen. Greg Blanc's Senate Bill 219 is very similar to Valley Springs Republican Rep. John Sjaarda's House Bill 1017, which failed in the House two weeks earlier. SB 219 will be heard in the Senate next week. The bills came as a reaction to the Sioux Falls School District and other local school districts switching to a new system for cashless ticketing with Iowa-based company Bound. More: Sioux Falls School District faces opposition to cashless ticketing system The district said at the time it made the change for 'convenience, enhanced safety, efficiency and environmental impact,' and noted contactless payment has 'become the norm around the country.' Blanc said he brought SB 219 to 'represent all people, especially those who are legitimately being disenfranchised.' He was supported by multiple people who said they were turned away from school events because they wanted to pay with cash, not a credit card. Brandon resident Susan Luschas, and her daughter Soraya Luschas, who open enrolls to attend Lincoln High School, said since the cashless ticketing policy has taken effect, sometimes they're let into events for free, sometimes their cash is taken and they're let in, or sometimes they're turned away from events. Sioux Falls resident Michele Klimek said she tried to work with the Sioux Falls School District office to pay in cash for a ticket for her daughter to attend a high school theater production but said the Instructional Planning Center was unable to provide it and redirected her to the school where the production would take place. Klimek said she spoke with that high school's athletic director, who wrote down her name and the names of people who would join her at the play, and her entry fee was waived. She said she hasn't attended a local school event since because it was a 'hassle for all involved.' Board speaks on cash bill: Superintendent contract, legislation and more: 6 things to know from Monday's school board meetings Fellow Sioux Falls resident Nikki McCormick said she and her husband were recently denied access to Howard Wood Field to watch their son, a junior in the Lincoln High School marching band, march on the field, because they wanted to pay in cash. Spearfish resident Jennifer Baron said she didn't feel comfortable agreeing to the 'privacy and tracking policies' of an out-of-state company like Bound. She said it's an issue when she travels to Sioux Falls for school events, and worried it may affect Rapid City school events in the future. Sam Nelson, lobbyist for the Sioux Falls School District, said one of the proponents who described their experiences with non-admission to an event was actually offered admission free of charge and they refused it. He didn't specify which of the proponents did this. Nelson said SB 219 is an 'attempt to create an issue, and make something bigger than what it really was.' He added it is Sioux Falls' right not to change their policy, and said proponents have made no official request for the board to change its policy. South Dakota High School Activities Association director Dan Swartos told the committee the SDHSAA accepts cash at all its events, like tournaments and championships at the end of each sports season, or for all-state band, jazz band and show choir events. But he said the SDHSAA has considered going cashless because some events have $10,000 to $20,000 in starting cash in the cash box, and cashless systems have fewer opportunities for fraud, he added. HB 1017 failed: South Dakota House fails to pass bill requiring cash for school events. But it could come back He noted the SDHSAA has no control over what kind of ticketing systems larger venues like the Mitchell Corn Palace or Sanford Pentagon use for events, and said SDHSAA events already face competition for those spaces with bigger events. He said he was concerned the bill could lead to the SDHSAA losing out on those venues in the future. Lobbyists with the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce and South Dakota Retailers Association said much the same, and questioned on the day of school events at these larger venues, who would be responsible for taking the cash payments. They called it an imposition on private businesses. Heath Larson with Associated School Boards of South Dakota said he opposed the bill from a 'local control perspective,' and asked that the committee let local school boards work through the process and work out any 'bugs' at the local level. This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Committee passes new bill requiring schools take cash for events
